Nokia flagship delay sends staff to other stores

Staff from Nokia’s delayed Regent Street store have been giving live handset demonstrations in Orange and Carphone Warehouse stores as they wait for Nokia’s flagship store to open.

A team of four Nokia staff were on hand in Orange’s Oxford Street store last week demonstrating Nokia’s latest handsets, including its two 8GB offerings, the N95 and N81.

A spokeswoman for Nokia said: ‘As part of the flagship store training programme, they will be supporting our business partners in the retail environment. They are currently working with Orange retail, and before Christmas they were working with Carphone Warehouse. This is all in preparation for the opening on 8 February.’

Nokia UK MD Simon Ainslie has spoken before of his ‘frustration’ at the lack of live handsets on display in stores. Nokia’s Regent Street store, which is now scheduled to open on 8 February, will alleviate some of Ainslie’s concerns by giving customers the opportunity to get ‘hands on’ with its devices and accessories.

Rival manufacturers are also keen to have live versions of their products in stores.

Sony Ericsson has a field team that visits stores around the country and tutor retail staff demonstrating products to the public. A spokesman for Sony Ericsson said: We’ve always felt that live demonstration is absolutely key.’